They both love horses, "Sons of Anarchy" and the Dallas Cowboys. Both have endless appetites and the same middle name.

Their resemblances are subtle but certain. Their smiles form a similar curve. Both are soft-spoken but will hold your eyes during conversation. They often pause for thought before responding with comparably calm voices.

Standing next to each other, it's easy to see they are related.

But up until a few months ago, the brothers didn't know the other existed.

CLOSE

Omi Schulte, 20, and TJ, 16, talk about how they found out they were brothers at McCrossan Boys Ranch with TJ's favorite horse, Larz, Friday, Jan. 19, at the ranch. Omi and TJ found out they were brothers in August of 2017.
Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader

Twist of fate

Omi, 20, and TJ, 16, met for the first time in August 2017 at a McCrossan Boys Ranch horse barn. Omi, a former resident of McCrossan, was back for a visit. TJ, a current occupant, was at the barns tending the horses, a regular duty for him. The two were talking in a group of boys when something Omi said stuck out to TJ.

"I heard his last name and got curious because it was the same as my – well, our –dad's," TJ said.

He went back to his dorm that night and told a McCrossan staffer he had a feeling the boys could be related.

TJ never knew his birth family. He was given away at about 2 weeks old to family friends who had lost a child. No legal paperwork was done, leaving little trail for a family tree. He learned he wasn't raised by his biological family when the parents who raised him died within a year of each other.

Omi Schulte, 20, and TJ, 16, talk about how they found out they were brothers at McCrossan Boys Ranch with TJ's favorite horse, Larz, Friday, Jan. 19, at the ranch. Omi and TJ found out they were brothers in August of 2017. A blood test confirmed that they are related. (Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

Omi Schulte, 20, right, and TJ, 16, left, prep horses to ride at McCrossan Boys Ranch Friday, Jan. 19, at the ranch. Omi and TJ found out they were brothers in August of 2017. (Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

Omi Schulte, 20, prepares to ride with his brother TJ at McCrossan Boys Ranch Friday, Jan. 19, at the ranch. Omg and TJ found out they were brothers in August of 2017. A blood test confirmed that they are related. (Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

Omi Schulte, 20, left, and TJ, 16, right, prep horses to ride at McCrossan Boys Ranch Friday, Jan. 19, at the ranch. Omi and TJ found out they were brothers in August of 2017. (Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

Omi Schulte, 20, and TJ, 16, talk about how they found out they were brothers at McCrossan Boys Ranch with TJ's favorite horse, Larz, Friday, Jan. 19, at the ranch. Omi and TJ found out they were brothers in August of 2017. A blood test confirmed that they are related. (Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

Omi Schulte, 20, left, and TJ, 16, right, ride at McCrossan Boys Ranch Friday, Jan. 19, at the ranch. Omi and TJ found out they were brothers in August of 2017. A blood test confirmed that they are related. (Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

Omi Schulte, 20, and TJ, 16, talk about how they found out they were brothers at McCrossan Boys Ranch with TJ's favorite horse, Larz, Friday, Jan. 19, at the ranch. Omi and TJ found out they were brothers in August of 2017. A blood test confirmed that they are related. (Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

TJ, 16, right, looks at his brother Omi Schulte, 20, left, as he talks about how they met at McCrossan Boys Ranch with TJ's favorite horse, Larz, Friday, Jan. 19, at the ranch. Omi and TJ found out they were brothers in August of 2017. A blood test confirmed that they are related. (Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

Omi Schulte, 20, and TJ, 16, talk about how they found out they were brothers at McCrossan Boys Ranch with TJ's favorite horse, Larz, Friday, Jan. 19, at the ranch. Omi and TJ found out they were brothers in August of 2017. A blood test confirmed that they are related. (Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

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"I was kind of a wild child,"; said TJ, whose last name could not be released because he is still a juvenile resident at McCrossan. "No one really wanted me. I didn't know where to go. I was going down the wrong road."

Employees at the Juvenile Detention Center knew his love of rodeo and horses and got him a phone interview with McCrossan, which offers on-site school, therapy and counseling programs for boys ages 9 to 20.

TJ has been at the ranch since September 2016, going to school, helping with the horses in the barns and roping cows.

He missed his big brother by two years, five months and 19 days.

Source of support

Omi was a ranch resident twice.

He had been sneaking out of the house, not paying attention in school and getting into fights. He was sent to the ranch first when he was about 11, for nine months, and again about a year later from January 2012 to April 2014.

Omi went into foster care around age 4 and was later adopted by his foster family in Mitchell. He didn't know much about his biological family. He didn't speak to his biological father.

The brothers' biological father died when Omi was at the ranch. Though Omi hadn't been in contact with his father, he attended the funeral in Mission, where his father was a medicine man.

TJ, 16, left, and Omi Schulte, 20, right, ride horses at McCrossan Boys Ranch Friday, Jan. 19, at the ranch. Omi and TJ found out they were brothers in August of 2017.(Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

Omi doesn't have contact with other biological family members.

"It's kind of him (TJ) and me," he said. "He didn't know anything about the family that I grew up knowing of. I don’t have anything to do with them, either. It kind of leaves us off by ourselves, which isn't a bad thing."

Boys who have trouble with the law or school go to McCrossan for structure and support. Up to 53 boys can stay at the ranch and attend school. Some graduate with a certified McCrossan high school diploma. The 62-year-old institution serves as a haven for boys and young men who often have little to no family to care for them.

"Many will stay until their 21st birthday," said Christy Menning, McCrossan's director of development. "A lot of these kids come from backgrounds with no family."

After TJ indicated that he thought he and Omi could be related, staff members started looking through the boys' files for their birth certificates. Omi's birth certificate was legally changed when he was adopted and TJ's only listed his birth mother.

"We had to keep digging," said Patty Mihelich, a programs and admissions manager at McCrossan. "But we finally found some paperwork who listed who their biological parents were."

Connecting the dots

McCrossan worked with TJ's social worker at Sicangu Child and Family Service to get a DNA test for the boys. Each organization agreed to pay for half.

"We've had brothers out here before, but to have two kids who didn't know each other years apart..." she trailed off. "It's a really cool thing to connect kids who didn't think they had a lot of family."

TJ was sitting in school at McCrossan in October 2017 when he was asked to step out. That's when he learned he and Omi were full-blooded brothers: a 99.99 percent DNA match.

"It's a dream come true, I guess," TJ said. "You hear about it, but you don't think of it happening to you, and then it does. It's really cool."

Omi got an email while he was at work at Dakota Traffic in Tea.

Omi Schulte, 20, and TJ, 16, talk about how they found out they were brothers at McCrossan Boys Ranch with TJ's favorite horse, Larz, Friday, Jan. 19, at the ranch. Omi and TJ found out they were brothers in August of 2017. A blood test confirmed that they are related.(Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

"The first feeling I had was just surprised," Omi said. "I'm excited."

The brothers have spent nearly every weekend together since. They like to watch Netflix, eat whatever food they can find, watch football and hang out in Sioux Falls.

"He's cool to talk to, easy to get along with," TJ said of his older brother.

Both have their father's name as a middle name: Job. They both lived in the same cottage, participated in 4-H and worked with horses during their time at McCrossan.

TJ is looking forward to graduating from the McCrossan high school in December, and Omi is hoping to start college, likely Southeast Technical Institute, in the next year.

"I enjoy having him around," Omi said. "Family wise, it's been very nice. Having him around is something else. He's my little brother. I can help him out, give him advice. If he's ever in trouble, I know I can pretty much take care of him."